The company currently has over 280,000 activated accounts through its products namely Cash Upfront accounts, Contra Trading, and RakuMargin.

Chief executive director Kazumasa Mise said Raku-Invest is a localised version drawing from the success of Tsumitate Investing offered by Rakuten Securities Inc (RSec) in Japan which involved regularly investing small amounts of money over time instead of a lump sum.

Tsumitate Investing has performed incredibly well in Japan appealing to young, beginner investors, and hopes to do the same in Malaysia, he said.

“It is a strategy that aims to reduce the impact of market volatility on investments where investors can initiate automated recurring trades for US shares.

“Investors can initiate automated recurring trades for US shares, American Depositary Receipts (ADRs), and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) from RM100 and it will automatically continue to trade at pre-selected scheduled periods,” he told reporters during the virtual launch of Raku-Invest.

On another note, Mise shared that Raku-Invest focuses on long-term goals to help reduce the impact of market volatility and the risk when you invest a large sum of money at one go.

He said the new service would be a revolutionary way for Malaysians to approach investing, particularly beneficial for first-time traders entering the US markets.

“It supports a dollar cost averaging investment strategy, promoting the concept of accumulated investing for novice investors,” he noted.

Mise pointed out that as of May 30 this year, almost 20% of all RSec US equity traders trade via Tsumitate Investing reflecting continued incremental growth of nearly 5% month-on-month of which over 12% are first-time US investors.

“Raku-Invest is poised to empower Malaysians with the tools and knowledge needed to build wealth intelligently and securely,” he added.

At the time of launch, over 1,200 US stocks will be tradeable for Raku-Invest services, with plans for expansion in the future.